Julius Mattila Commits to Play for BC Hockey Next Season

Earlier this afternoon, Julius Mattila confirmed that he will be joining the BC men's hockey team in the fall. Mattila was previously set to play at Western Michigan, but will now be joining his twin brother at BC. Julius and Jesper come from a hockey family - their father, Hannu, played in the Finnish professional league.

Julius is ranked 115th among European skaters in this year's draft class by NHL Central Scouting. He played 46 games for Ilves U20 this season, recording 21 goals and 35 assists. In 7 playoff games he added 3 goals and 5 assists. Mattila recorded only 6 penalty minutes during the regular season and ended the year with an impressive +19. Mattila is known for his speed and is strong on faceoffs, both of which will be important additions to a BC team that lost a lot of players in the off-season.

Julius Mattila's speed and ability to score should help BC fans to feel better about the team's prospects next season; if he can adjust quickly to the NCAA, he could become an important factor in helping this team to be deeper than expected. This should also make fans feel good about the staff's ability to bring in new recruits. Sure, Mattila was probably a fairly easy get considering the fact that the twins have always played on the same team, but he's still a solid new recruit. One would imagine that the twins are also quite comfortable playing with each other, which will be an asset to the team. Mattila's addition to the team also means that BC should have enough players to field a full team that is actually competitive.